March 23,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
765 
C 2 H 6 (HO) 
Alcohol. 
C 6 H 8 (HO) 6 
Mannite 
(ahexatomic alcohol). 
C 2 H 3 O.H 
Aldehyd. 
Glucose 
(first aldehyd of mannite). 
C 2 H 3 0(H0) 
Acetic Acid. 
C H 0 ((^^5 
L 6 -ti 6 U | (H0 ^ 
Mannitic Acid 
(monobasic). 
r tt ^ | (HO) 4 
C 6 H 4°2 \ (HO) 2 
Saccharic Acid 
(dibasic). 
c 2 h 6 ) 0 
C 2 H 5 i u 
JEther 
C 6 H 7 0(H0) 4 1 0 
C 6 H 7 0(H0) 4 J u 
Cane Sugar 
(first ether of glucose). 
The sugar employed in pharmacy should he the 
"best obtainable, and probably white sugar-candy 
would furnish it in the purest condition. Since 
most sugar contains a small quantity of phosphate 
and perhaps other salts of lime, a test should be in¬ 
troduced for the purpose of detecting them. It is 
more than probable that the different results obtained 
by different operators in preparing syr. ferri iodidi are 
attributable to the use of sugar of different qualities. 
Sacchartjm Lactis. —Sugar of milk. Lactose 
C 12 H 24 0 12 . [§ A crystallized sugar, obtained from 
the whey of milk by evaporation.] 
Lactose is distinguished from both cane and grape 
sugar by its inferior solubility in water, and from 
the latter by its insolubility in spirit. It also fer¬ 
ments with difficulty. Further, when treated with 
nitric acid, the chief product of the reaction is mucic 
acid, a compound isomeric with saccharic acid, but 
differing from that body in being very sparingly 
soluble. Milk sugar is probably analogous to sucrose 
in constitution, as it yields, when boiled with dilute 
acids, a very soluble fermentable sugar called galac¬ 
tose, which is separable into two portions, both dex¬ 
trorotatory. 
Dissolved in water and warmed with an alkaline 
solution of cupric tartrate, milk sugar causes an im¬ 
mediate precipitation of cuprous oxide. 
Sugar of milk has but very little sweetening power, 
but, in consequence of the hardness of the crystals, 
is employed occasionally in pharmacy to triturate 
with, and dilute other powders which require careful 
subdivision. 
Sapo Durus. — [§ Soap made with olive oil and 
soda.] 
When an oil is agitated with an alkaline liquid an 
emulsion is produced ; and if this be heated to ebul¬ 
lition, the milky character of the mixture is gradually 
lost, as the globules of oil go into solution. 
If soda has been the alkali employed, the soap 
which is thus formed may be precipitated by the ad¬ 
dition of common salt. On standing for a time, a 
kind of curd forms, which, when collected and pressed 
into cakes, furnishes hard soap. 
The reaction which occurs on boiling the oil and 
alkaline ley together has been already explained. 
[See Emp. Plumbl] The glycerine which is gene¬ 
rated in the process is dissolved in the spent leys, 
which, after the addition of the salt and separation 
of the soap, are usually thrown away. 
Ordinary hard soap is a mixture of oleate and 
margarate of sodium; the latter is less soluble in 
spirit than the former, and probably constitutes the 
deposit which is sometimes met with in Lin. Saponis 
Comp. Soap which contains a larger proportion of 
alkaline oleate, and which is more soluble in spirit, 
is therefore preferable to ordinary hard soap, even 
when prepared from olive oil. The preparation of 
such a compound from almond oil is described and 
recommended by Mr. Wood. (Pharm. Journ. 2nd 
Series, Yol. XI.£p. 415.) 
QUINICINE AND CINCHONICINE AND THEIR 
SALTS. 
BY DAVID HOWARD. 
In the early part of last year I brought before tho 
notice of this Society an account of an alkaloid from 
cinchona bark, the properties of which distinguished it 
from those already described. 
Further investigations, following out a suggestion 
which I owe to Dr. Do Vry, of the Hague, convince me 
that it is identical with the quinicine, first obtained by 
Pasteur from quinine by the action of heat, and described 
by him in a paper, a translation of which is to be found 
in the Journal of the Chemical Society , vol. vi. p. 274 A 
I now supplement the brief account there given by a 
more particular description of the crystalline salts of 
this singular alkaloid, and of the similarly-formed cin- 
chonicine, the allusions to which are very slight in 
Pasteur’s paper; and believe that the result of a further 
examination will be found to add something to our 
knowledge of the history of the cinchona alkaloids, and 
to throw some light on the vexed question of the identity 
of quinicine with the uncrystallized alkaloids contained 
in these barks, which in an impure state form the qui- 
noidine of commerce, which Pasteur suggests in the above- 
mentioned paper, but which still remains undecided. 
The result of many experiments on the transformation 
of quinine and quinidine into quinicine; and of cin¬ 
chonine and cinchonidine into cinchonicine, confirm 
Pasteur’s observations that “though heat plays an im¬ 
portant part in this transformation, the vitreous resinoidal 
state of the product has nevertheless a real influence 
on it.” Thus we find that the action of heat on a solu¬ 
tion of a salt of an alkaloid in water in sealed tubes, 
even when exposed to a higher temperature than is re¬ 
quired under favourable circumstances to convert it 
wholly into the isomeric modification, is very slight 
indeed; if, however, a considerable excess of acid be 
present, the alkaloid is, under the same circumstances, 
slowly changed, but far less readily than when Pasteur’s 
conditions are observed. On the other hand, acting on 
a hint of Dr. De Vry’s, I find that a mixture of glycerine 
and neutral sulphate of cinchonine, exposed to the need¬ 
ful heat, is converted into sulphate of cinchonicine pari 
passu with a mixture of the salt with acid. Sulphate of 
quinine, when heated with glycerine, showed no signs 
of the formation of quinicine, owing apparently to the 
slight solubility of the salt in that medium. 
The change in the alkaloids is accompanied in all 
cases by the development of a yellow colour, which 
seems inherent in the resulting alkaloid ; if more heat is 
used than is absolutely needed, especially when atmo¬ 
spheric air is present, a further decomposition takes 
place with formation of a darker colour; this may be in 
great part prevented by heating in an atmosphere ot 
carbonic anhydride. 
A careful examination of the salts of quinicine show’s 
that the alkaloid described in my previous paper is 
identical with it. The greater number ot these salts 
are difficult to crystallize, but the chloroplatinate, the 
oxalate and the acid tartrate crystallize with comparative 
ease, and can be obtained in a state of purity. We are 
* See Pharm. Journ. 1-st series, vol. xiii. p. 374. 
